There and Back Again...A Scottish Tale

After spending many hours driving through the Shire--

--we (that is, Coach 3), reached Richmond, our break point, where we had lunch and saw the Richmond Castle, which was more ruin than castle. (Just a sidenote, I think Blogger is cutting off my pictures on the sides, so you have to click to see the whole thing.) It was cool, but not terribly impressive (look at me, I've been in ye olde England for a week, and already castles are seeming unimpressive. Next thing you know, I'll be telling you that the Sistine Chapel is "okay").
We finished our drive into Scotland, dividing our time on the bus between napping, reading, and staring at the sheep. They were super cute and looked like this:

N.B. This picture was NOT taken while on the bus. I took it on a hike which I'll tell you about later.
We dropped our stuff in our rooms (which were really nice--we stayed at Pollock Halls at the University of Edinburgh, although I didn't see any University buildings...), ran to dinner, and then at about 9 o'clock we set off on a hike up to what's called Arthur's Seat (although according to Wikipedia, it doesn't seem too too likely that the place has any relation to King Arthur) in Holyrood Park. This was a WONDERFUL idea. The sun doesn't set until after 10 up there, and it doesn't really get dark until around 11, so we had plenty of time.
Anyway, it was a bit arduous at times, but it was a BEAUTIFUL view. Maddie took this picture of me:

My cardigan's all funky because it was really really windy. That's the lovely city of Edinburgh behind me. Note that this picture was taken at 9:45, which is kind of crazy.
Anyway, that was the main highlight of the first day.
The next morning, we woke up early (they served haggis and black pudding at breakfast...needless to say, I did not go near it) and headed over to Rosslyn Chapel, of The Da Vinci Code fame. The chapel was lamely undergoing conservation and they didn't allow pictures inside AND the Holy Grail might be hidden under its floors but they're not investigating so I am kind of angry with this Chapel and thus will spend no more time on it...although it was kind of pretty.
In the afternoon, we headed into Edinburgh to see the sights. We walked up the Royal Mile to the Edinburgh Castle, which holds the Scottish crown jewels, but decided the 14 pound admission rate was a bit steep and just admired the castle from the outside. We walked back down the Royal Mile to the new Scottish Parliament building, which is drastically different from the castle. It's a modern building that looks really wacky and is full of a lot of highly stylized old Scottish symbols. The tour was pretty interesting and free to boot, so I and my wallet appreciated that.
Saturday night, the eve of the 4th of July, saw all of us gathered into the conference center for TRADITIONAL SCOTTISH DANCING, called Ceilidh, which was a riot. It's kind of like square dancing but Scottish. It actually reminded me a lot of German Folk Club dancing, for those of you who remember that.

Yes, this dude is wearing a kilt. Yes, he is American.

So that was pretty cool. At midnight, we all sang the Star Spangled Banner loudly and obnoxiously, like true Americans. A few of us even had mini flags, which we waved around with wild abandon.
Sunday morning at first seemed like it would be a terrible disappointment. We were scheduled to go on a hike through the Trossachs, which are the "mini-Highlands." It was going to be tough and tiring, but entirely worth it for the view. However, our program leader, Greg, came up to us with some bad news, saying that there were "torrential downpours and 70mph winds" in the Trossachs and he thought it was "too dangerous to go out." He had planned a closer, alternative hike for later in the afternoon, which we were definitely going to go on. In the meantime, Maddie and I trekked into the city to do some shopping. I bought a scarf and a blanket made from Scottish wool, both of which are absurdly amazing. I snuggled up in the blanket for the whole bus ride home and couldn't be happier with that purchase.
We headed back to the dorms to leave for the hike. I, of course, in my perpetual irreverence for the weather, had nothing water-proof, and was forced to go buy a trash bag in a pathetic attempt to stay dry. It didn't really work.
We drove about a half hour away and began our hike up to a close peak. The weather got progressively worse as we neared the top, so that by the time we had reached it, we were being pelted with small hailstones. I kid you not. It was hail. And it was painful. But it was also invigorating, in the same way that I assume acupuncture is healing. My jeans were sopping wet and my shirt (underneath my trash bag) was damp. But the view was amazing (this isn't from the highest peak...I wasn't about to take out my camera in the hailstorm):

Basically, the most important thing I learned this weekend is that Scotland is beautiful.
Anyway, after the hike, I curled up under my covers, made myself some hot tea, and did some (pleasure) reading.
I went out for a glass of cider (hard) and then hung out with some people for a while before heading back to bed to get up early for today's departure.
The bus ride back started off boringly and we were stuck in traffic for a while. But when we got to Fountain's Abbey, all of that was forgotten. The Abbey was built in the 12th century and is pretty well preserved. I won't try describing it in words, since I would probably fail. Pictures will do the job better:

There are tons more...so if you're interested, I can send them along. The final one is the so-called "Surprise View" from "Anne Boleyn's Seat." The place was beautiful and secluded and made me wish I could have been there in its heyday.
I actually have to go do homework (you know...I'm here to "study abroad"), but I'll leave you with this for now: A Scotsman playing the bagpipes whilst wearing a kilt!

And one more sheep, for good measure:

And this quote I just found from Braveheart, which I have yet to see, but definitely will be watching soon:
[William has asked Murron to go riding with him in the rain] 
Mother MacClannough: In this? You're out of your mind! 
William Wallace: Oh, it's good Scottish weather, madam. The rain is falling straight down. Well, slightly to the side like. 


Bye now!